Monthly Archives: October 2011

Post navigation

Forget the candy, MTV is the place for the best Halloween treat with an all day marathon of the first season of the critically acclaimed hit series Teen Wolf. From the first bite to the final fight, all 12 episodes will air back-to-back beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET/PT on Halloween day, Monday, October 31. The highly anticipated second season of this young, sexy reinvention of the classic werewolf tale will return Summer 2012 on MTV.

The first season of Teen Wolf averaged a 1.5 P12-34 rating, more than doubling its time period average from the year prior, with more than 1.7 million viewers tuning in each week. The gripping season finale delivered a series-high 1.9 P12-34 rating and 2.1 million total viewers.

Teen Wolf was developed by Jeff Davis (creator, “Criminal Minds”) who also serves as executive producer. Additional executive producers include Marty Adelstein (“Prison Break”), Michael Thorn, René Echevarria (“Medium,” “Castle”), Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley. Russell Mulcahy (“Highlander,” “Resident Evil: Extinction”) is co-executive producer. The pilot was written by Jeff Davis and Jeph Loeb & Matthew Weisman and directed by Russell Mulcahy. The Teen Wolf series is based on a screenplay by Jeph Loeb & Matthew Weisman. Justin Levy and Anne Marie McGintee are the MTV executives in charge of production. The series is a co-production with MGM, in association with Lost Marbles Productions, Inc., First Cause, Inc. and DiGa.

Former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen will return to television in summer 2012 on FX in Anger Management, a new sitcom loosely based on Revolution Studios’ 2003 hit comedy feature of the same name, announced John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks.

FX has ordered 10 episodes of Anger Management from Lionsgate-owned distributor Debmar-Mercury, led by Co-Presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein. Production on the sitcom will begin in early 2012 with comedy veteran writer-producer Bruce Helford (George Lopez, The Drew Carey Show) as executive producer and showrunner. It will be produced by Lionsgate Television, led by Television Group President Kevin Beggs and COO Sandra Stern; Joe Roth and Revolution Studios’ Vince Totino; Sheen manager Mark Burg’s production company, Evolution Management; and Ramon Estevez and Estevez Sheen Productions.

In success, FX will pick up an additional 90 episodes under a unique syndication model crafted by Debmar-Mercury for multiple Tyler Perry sitcoms and Revolution’s and Ice Cube’s Are We There Yet? The series will air exclusively on FX until the off-network episodes start airing in broadcast syndication in fall 2014.

“We think that Bruce Helford, Joe Roth and Charlie Sheen have come up with a wonderful, hilarious vehicle for Charlie’s acting talents—and a character we are very much looking forward to seeing him play,” said John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks. “Two and a Half Men has been an outstanding component of FX’s schedule for the past 14 months, and we have every confidence that Anger Management will soon be as well.”

Sheen will retain a significant ownership stake in the series inspired by the film, in which an anger management therapist, who may need more counseling than his patients, wreaks havoc on the lives of his patients through his unconventional methods.

“I have been fortunate to work with Charlie Sheen on six hit films,” said Roth. “Now to have Charlie, the number one comedy star on TV, doing Anger Management, feels like a perfect fit. And I could not be happier than being back at Fox with John Landgraf and Chuck Saftler.”

“We were very gratified by the high level of interest in Anger Management from across the industry,” commented Marcus and Bernstein. “Ultimately, we felt FX’s track record for airing daring and distinctive shows would provide the perfect home for a sitcom headlined by one of the most successful sitcom stars of all time and produced by Joe Roth.”

Beggs said, “The FX brand epitomizes creative excellence and risk-taking combined with entrepreneurial business acumen. Partnering with them on Anger Management is a no-brainer and we are thrilled to bring Charlie Sheen, Bruce Helford and this amazing creative team to the FX family of original series.”

“Charlie and I are thrilled to be in business with FX and look forward to producing this series for years to come,” said Burg.

Charlie Sheen, who has starred in more than 40 feature films, catapulted to fame in such critical and commercial hits as Platoon and Wall Street. His other feature film credits include Major League, Red Dawn, Lucas, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Eight Men Out, Young Guns, Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux, The Three Musketeers, The Chase, Money Talks, Being John Malkovich, Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4. He also appeared in the television movies Rated X and Good Advice.

Sheen became known to television audiences through his Golden Globe Award-winning lead role in Spin City. In 2003, Sheen was cast as Charlie Harper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, which was loosely based on Sheen’s bad boy image. The role garnered him an ALMA Award and four Emmy Award nominations, as well as two Golden Globe Award nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.

In 2011, Sheen set a new Guinness World Record for Twitter as the “Fastest Time to Reach 1 Million Followers,” adding an average of 129,000 new followers per day.

About FX
FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from the Fox Networks Group. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 98 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning original series, an established film library with box-office hits from 20th Century Fox and other studios and an impressive roster of acquired hit series. For more information about FX, visit our web site at www.FXnetworks.com.

.

About Debmar-Mercury
Debmar-Mercury, a leading media company specializing in syndication, network, cable and ancillary markets, produces and distributes for daytime television The Wendy Williams Show and The Jeremy Kyle Show, and has U.S. distribution rights to Fremantle Media North America’s Family Feud; distributes Tyler Perry sitcoms House of Payne, spinoff Meet the Browns and For Better or Worse (premiering on TBS in November), and through Revolution Studios’ Joe Roth, Debmar-Mercury distributes the sitcoms Anger Management (premiering on FX in summer 2012 and starring Charlie Sheen) and CubeVision’s Are We There Yet?(starring Ice Cube); as well as the Revolution Studios and CubeVision sitcom ; and has U.S. TV distribution rights to South Park, Hell’s Kitchen and a movie library featuring titles from Revolution Studios. Debmar-Mercury is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the leading next-generation studio.

.

About Revolution Studios
Revolution Studios was founded in 2000 by Joe Roth, in partnership with Sony Pictures, Starz Encore Group and Fox Entertainment Group. Since its inception, Revolution Studios has created a library of 46 films, including “Black Hawk Down,” “Maid in Manhattan,” “Anger Management,” and the “Are We There Yet?” franchise, collectively earning more than $3.7 billion at the box office. Currently, Revolution Studios is engaged in actively managing its library and pursuing licensing opportunities, including sequels, spin-offs, and other productions based on its films.

Prior to forming Revolution Studios, Joe Roth served as chairman of both the Walt Disney Studios and Twentieth Century Fox. In addition to being the majority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, a major league soccer team, Roth produced “Alice in Wonderland” for Disney, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, which went on to gross over $1 billion. He is currently producing “OZ: The Great and Powerful” for Disney, directed by Sam Raimi and starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams; and “Snow White and the Huntsman” for Universal, directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Claflin.

.

About Lionsgate Television
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution and new channel platforms. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as “Mad Men,” “Weeds,” and “Nurse Jackie” along with recent series such as the comedy “Blue Mountain State” and the critically-acclaimed drama “Boss” as well as the syndication successes “Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne,” its spinoff “Meet the Browns,” “The Wendy Williams Show,” “Are We There Yet?” and the upcoming “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse.”

Its feature film business has generated more than half a billion dollars at the North American box office in the past year, fueled by such hits as THE EXPENDABLES, LINCOLN LAWYER, TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY, THE LAST EXORCISM, KICK ASS and the critically-acclaimed PRECIOUS, which won two Academy Awards®. The Company’s home entertainment business has grown to more than 8% market share and is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 13,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

In a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage – a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.

More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8pm (+160%) and gaining audience throughout its premiere against the World Series and Sunday Night Football, ABC’s series debut of Once Upon a Time opened with an average audience of 12.8 million viewers and a 3.9 rating, 10 share among Adults 18-49, standing as Sunday’s #1 non-sports program.

ABC’s Once Upon a Time opened as the season’s #1 drama debut in Adults 18-49. In fact, ABC claims the season’s Top 2 drama debuts with Once Upon a Time and Revenge, respectively.

Once Upon a Time drew ABC’s biggest audience in the time period with regular programming in over 3-1/2 years and its top Adult 18-49 number in nearly 3 years – since 3/30/08 and 11/2/08, respectively.

In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Once Upon a Time stands as Sunday’s biggest non-NFL-driven drama debut in 5 years – since ABC’s Brothers & Sisters on 9/24/06.

Fuse, the national music television network of The Madison Square Garden Company, is counting down the 100 most memorable, influential and beloved hip hop jams in a new show called Top 100 Hip Hop Hits. The ten-hour countdown will be broken up into one-hour episodes. Tune-in every weeknight at 9pm EST from Monday, October 24th until Friday, November 4th as DJ Khaled, Naturi Naughton and Royce da 5’9″ individually host each episode. The countdown will ultimately reveal the most notorious (no, that’s not a hint) hip hop jam of all time.

Online at Fuse.tv, viewers can watch web exclusive video features with the show’s hosts, as well as artists featured in the Top 100 Hip Hop Hits. Fuse.tv will also host all 100 videos online, with new clips posted daily as they are revealed throughout the countdown.

Tune In On Air & Online Every Weeknight at 9P/8C Starting Monday Oct. 24

Oct. 24 at 9P/8C
Videos 100-91

Oct. 25 at 9P/8C
Videos 90-81

Oct. 26 at 9P/8C
Videos 80-71

Oct. 27 at 9P/8C
Videos 70-61

Oct. 28 at 9P/8C
Videos 60-51

Oct. 31 at 9P/8C
Videos 50-41

Nov. 1 at 9P/8C
Videos 40-31

Nov. 2 at 9P/8C
Videos 30-21

Nov. 3 at 9P/8C
Videos 20-11

Nov. 4 at 9P/8C
Videos 10-1

ABOUT DJ Khaled
Record producer, DJ, record label executive and radio host for the Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR. In July 2011, DJ Khaled released his fifth studio album, titled We the Best Forever.

ABOUT Naturi Naughton
This singer and actress launched her career as a member of the R&B trio 3LW. Amongst many of her projects, Naturi starred in the remake of the movie Fame, played Lil’ Kim in Notorious and starred as Brenda in the NBC drama series The Playboy Club.

ABOUT Royce da 5’9″
Detroit rapper who is one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with Eminem is also a member of hip hop group Slaughterhouse. In August 2011, Royce released his fifth independent album called Success if Certain.

“Ka Iwi Kapu” – When the Five-0s investigate the murder of a young couple filming a spooky documentary about a traditional Hawaiian burial site, they are threatened by a drifter who puts a curse on Danny, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Monday, Oct. 31 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Robert Englund (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”) guest stars as the drifter.

CBS‘s Eye logo, one of the best-crafted, most identifiable and most successful corporate symbols in history, turns 60 tomorrow. One of America’s most enduring icons, the Eye was first introduced to the public during the Network’s station breaks on Saturday, Oct. 20, 1951, and CBS is commemorating the anniversary on-air and on CBS.com and CBSNews.com.

“From the Network to the Corporation, the CBS Eye is an enduring asset of our company and a major source of pride for all of us,” said Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation. “It is a corporate logo that is known and respected all around the world, and continues to be a fitting symbol of CBS’s proud history and ongoing leadership.”

Tomorrow, CBS.com is replacing its homepage’s current – and prominently placed – CBS Eye with the original Eye logo. Users hovering over it will see a brief explanation of its significance, and clicking on it will direct them to a classic Charles Osgood story about the creation and history of the CBS Eye. CBSNews.com will also run the Osgood story, and users on both CBS.com and CBSNews.com can view photo essays of the Eye logos throughout the decades. Kicking off the primetime schedule tomorrow at 8:00 PM, ET/PT, the Network will broadcast an on-air spot showcasing the various CBS Eye logos throughout the years and highlighting the significance of today’s date. Additionally, a Network ID featuring the original CBS Eye and date the Eye was established will be shown at the top of each of the following two hours of primetime.

In the Eye’s original animated incarnation, its center was a camera iris that opened and shut, and the first still version set the Eye against a background of clouds. Over the years there have been different colors and sizes of the Eye, but to this day, the perfectly-balanced design remains unchanged.

By 1951, CBS Television had seized the broadcasting spotlight. That year, the Network debuted the immensely popular “I Love Lucy” and launched CBS’s first news documentary series, the critically-acclaimed “See It Now” hosted by the legendary Edward R. Murrow. That same year, CBS President Frank Stanton felt the time had come to give CBS Television a distinct and distinctive identity, so he asked creative director Bill Golden to design an on-air symbol. Golden’s inspiration came while driving through Pennsylvania Dutch country. He became intrigued by the hex symbols resembling the human eye that are drawn on Shaker barns to ward off evil spirits. He also came across a drawing he admired, that had the look of an eye, in a publication featuring Shaker art. With the help of graphic artist Kurt Weihs, the Eye logo was created.

As the image became established, Stanton was determined to keep the CBS Eye in the public eye. He had the clouds removed and emblazoned the symbol on cameras, curtains, buildings, jewelry and rate cards. The next season, when Bill Golden prepared to design a new symbol, Stanton overruled him, saying: “Just when you’re beginning to be bored with what you’ve done is when it’s beginning to be noticed by your audience.”

Decades later, the Eye continues to receive critical acclaim. On Dec. 13, 1998, it was featured in The New York Times Magazine’s roundup of the century’s “greatest design hits,” and a “Company Logo Smackdown” in the May 5, 2008 issue of Fortune magazine stated “CBS’s logo is as relevant today �as the day [in 1951] it was introduced.'” Most recently, the March 14, 2011 issue of TIME ran a story about the evolving logos of many corporations through the decades, stating “…in the case of CBS, sometimes companies get it right the first time.”

THE SIMPSONS: In the 22nd annual installment of “Treehouse of Horror,” Homer channels Aron Ralston (guest voicing as himself) after a boulder traps his arm; a venomous spider bite leaves Homer paralyzed; then Ned Flanders, devout preacher by day, transforms into a cold-blooded vigilante by night; and Bart and Milhouse get caught in inter-planetary warfare in the all-new “Treehouse of Horror XXII” episode of THE SIMPSONS airing Sunday, Oct. 30 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. THE SIMPSONS